Vice President Mike Pence calls President Trump a 'champion of America's inner cities'

The Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition is a faith-based organization working to reduce gun violence and homicide among youths ages 12 to 24.
Holly Hays/IndyStar

Buy Photo

Then Vice President-elect Mike Pence acknowledges the crowd before the swearing in of new Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on Jan. 9 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.(Photo: Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar)Buy Photo

Vice President Mike Pence touted the Trump administration’s crime-fighting initiatives during a speech at a fundraiser Friday for an Indianapolis anti-violence group.

Pence praised the Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition’s work to reduce violence in neighborhoods hard hit with crime and called President Donald Trump a “champion of America’s inner cities.”

Pence pointed to Trump’s decision this week to declare the nation’s opioid crisis a national emergency and to a new partnership between the U.S. Department of Justice and twelve cities, including Indianapolis, that will provide special funding to help fight violent crime.

But, Pence said, “We can’t just arrest our way back to public safety.”

He cited the need for new jobs, noting that a million have been added since the beginning of the year.

He went on to call for “bold” welfare reforms. There are too many federal programs designed to help the poor undermine efforts to get people back on their feet, he said, continuing what he called a “heartbreaking cycle of poverty and despair.”

“I believe, and the president believes, we also have a responsibility to help (people) find a pathway out of poverty," Pence said.

But the vice president said the real work of fighting crime will come from groups like the Ten Point Coalition, which he praised as a national model.

“The truth is we can't solve poverty from Washington, D.C.,” he said. “Our administration believes in a bottom-up approach."

The Ten Point Coalition's preliminary fundraising estimates showed they raised more than $100,000 at the luncheon Friday. Board member the Rev. Charles Ellis said in past years they raised about $35,000 to $40,000.

Ellis said the group was pleased Pence supported Ten Point's efforts and emphasized the need for a conversation on urban youth violence at the national level.

"This isn’t just an Indianapolis issue; this is an issue all over the country," Ellis said.

Pence’s role in the fundraiser drew criticism from some within the Black Lives Matter movement who have been critical of the Trump administration and Pence’s record on civil rights.

Several protesters stood outside the event Friday, holding signs with slogans such as “Defund 10 Point.”

Pence focused his anti-crime efforts as governor primarily on drug abuse, setting up a task force to tackle a surge in heroin and opioid abuse. He also opened a new mental health hospital and signed legislation making it more difficult to obtain over-the-counter drugs used to make methamphetamine.

But Pence rarely addressed the rash of gun violence that plagued Indianapolis, even as homicides hit an all-time high during his final year in office.

Although he has praised Ten Point’s work, he and Indiana’s Republican-dominated legislature enacted several laws that rolled back gun restrictions, putting them at odds with Ten Point Coalition leader, the Rev. Charles Harrison, who has been critical of such efforts.

During his speech on Friday, Pence said he mourned the death of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Deputy Chief Jim Waters, who recently died in a crash on I-70.

He did not mention the police shooting of Aaron Bailey, an unarmed black man who was fatally shot by IMPD officers in June after a vehicle chase. Bailey’s family said Thursday that autopsy results showed he was shot four times in the back.

Harrison acknowledged the criticism from some black leaders, but said Thursday, "We cannot solve this problem if we don’t inject this issue into the White House — this is an American problem and it cannot be a Democratic or Republican issue or black or white issue."

The annual fundraiser, hosted at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, cost between $250 and $25,000 a person, depending on the package purchased.

Buy Photo

Second Lady Karen Pence, center, visits china painting artists Regina Vandivier, left, and Ellen Wilson-Pruitt, right, at the Indiana State Fair on Aug. 11, 2017. The public is voting to help choose artists who will paint dessert plates that will be added to the Vice Presidential china collection.(Photo: Vic Ryckaert/IndyStar)

Congressman Mike Pence, R-Ind., looks down as he speaks to the hundreds of people gathered on the south lawn of the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis on March 15, 2010, for the "Kill The Bill" rally opposing President Obama's plan for nationalized health care that could come up for a vote in the coming week. (Charlie Nye / The Star).
Charlie Nye

Angie's List founder, Angie Hicks, was all smiles as Gov. Mike Pence talked about her as an Indiana success story at an expansion announcement Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. The Indianapolis-based company announced an expansion into the old Ford building on East Washington Street that would consolidate current employees and add 1,000 new jobs. The expansion did not happen.
Mike Fender / IndyStar

Speaker of the House Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis (left) applauds Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as they look out over the assembled state legislators following Pence's third State of the State address on Jan. 13, 2015.
Charlie Nye/The Star

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence addresses media members about changes that he wants made to the recently signed Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Indianapolis, Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2015. Robert Scheer / The Star
Robert Scheer / The Star

Gov. Mike Pence and Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz lead the Indiana Education Roundtable meeting at the Indiana Government Center in Indianapolis on June 23, 2014.
Anna Reed/The Star, Anna Reed/The Star

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence speaks during a news conference before attending Symphony on the Prairie for a Fourth of July concert in Fishers, Ind. Pence is one of several Republicans Trump is considering for his vice presidential running mate.
Michael Conroy, AP

Gov. Mike Pence (left) and the Rev. Charles Harrison talk about violence at the intersection of 29th and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. streets in Indianapolis on Monday, July 11, 2016.
Jill Disis/IndyStar

Gov. Mike Pence speaks before the start of the annual Cops Cycling for Survivors' 13-day ride across Indiana. Riders gathered Monday, July 11, 2016, at the Indiana State Museum in Downtown Indianapolis. Pence and his wife, Karen, rode the first leg.
Jenna Watson/IndyStar

Governor Mike Pence talks to the media about the putting a halt to the Syrian refugee program Tuesday, December 8, 2015, afternoon at Signature Flight Support at the Indianapolis Airport.
Matt Kryger/The Star, Matt Kryger/The Star

Peter Recchio, co-founder of Tea-MAC, the Tea Party of Michiana Action Coalition, left, and Rick Barr, right, shake hands with Indiana Congressman Mike Pence after his speech at the Indianapolis Tea Party get-out-the-vote rally held in Hummel Park in Plainfield on Friday night, October 15, 2010. Charlie Nye / The Star.
Charlie Nye

Mike Pence, Indiana Governor, hands out toy balls to spectators at the Circle City Classic parade, Indianapolis, Saturday, September 26, 2015. The event marks the annual Classic football game, this year pitting Central State University against Kentucky State University at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Robert Scheer / The Star

Republican candidate for Indiana governor Congressman Mike Pence takes a shot at the basket as he shoots from a basketball floor marked with the IU satellite campuses around the state at Indiana Black Expo, Inc.'s Summer Celebration in the Indiana Convention Center on Saturday, July 21, 2012. Charlie Nye / The Star.
Charlie Nye, Indianapolis Star

Governor Mike Pence, center, talks about authorizing the arming of soldiers at Indiana National Guard facilities and recruiting sites statewide, while speaking to the press at a press conference at the Indiana National Guard Joint Force Headquarters, Sunday, July 19, 2015. He is joined by Col. Timothy Thombleson, from left behind him, Col. Ronald Westfall, and Indiana Adjutant General Major General Corey Carr.
Kelly Wilkinson

Indiana Governor Mike Pence chats with young entrepreneur Nathan Walsh, 7, during Lemonade Day at the Statehouse, Friday, May 30, 2014. Nathan told the governor he is good in math, and that some people say he could help with the budget.
Kelly Wilkinson/The Star

Governor Mike Pence asks school children to join him in the popular last line of "Twas the NIght Before Christmas" which he read to them, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" during the Statehouse Christmas tree decorating event at the Statehouse, Friday, December 13, 2013. Children also brought handmade ornaments to hang on the tree.
Kelly Wilkinson/The Star